Counter top divider



Jan. 28, 1964 H. s. GRAHAM COUNTER TOP DIVIDER Filed July 2e, 1961 JNVENTOR. /lmrd S, Graham Mam may

United States Patent O 3,119,642 CGUNTER T01 DIJEDER Hilliard S. Graham, 6921i S. Chappell Ave., Chicago 49, lll. Filed July 26, 1961, Ser. No. 127,663 8 Claims. (Cl. S12-146.4)

This invention relates to counter top dividers such as are commonly used in supermarkets to separate goods being checked out for one purchaser from those of the next purchaser in line.

Prior art dividers of this type have commonly been in the form of an elongated member, round or square in cross section and formed of an opaque material such as rubber or wood.

A primary object of the present invention is to devise a divider which may be utilized to display merchandise for the purpose of inducing the purchaser, whose goods are being checked out, to buy such displayed merchandise.

A further object of the invention is to devise a divider which can be utilized to display merchandise of an expensive nature and which cannot ordinarily be displayed on the usual shelves of a supermarket.

Another object of the invention is to prevent theft of the divider or the merchandise displayed in the divider.

A more specific object of the invention is to devise a divider having a body portion and a transparent display container attached thereto and adapted to contain merchandise to be displayed.

Still another object of the invention is to provide transparent side walls for the divider to display advertising material thereon.

Still another object of the invention is to afford a removable connection between the body portion and the container of the divider to facilitate removal of the container and replacement thereof by another transparent container displaying different merchandise.

Yet another object of the invention is to afford means for releasably interlocking the display container with the body portion of the divider in such a manner as to prevent unauthorized separation of the container from the body portion.

A further object of the invention is to connect a handie to the body portion of the divider by inserting a tang on one end of the body portion into a tube defining the handle.

Still another object of the invention is to afford a flexible anchor line connecting the divider to a stationary structure such as the counter top, thereby preventing unauthorized removal of the divider. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the anchor line is attached to the handle, preferably at the end thereof remote from the body portion of the divider.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a counter top divider embodying a preferred form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view on line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view on line 3 3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partly assembled side elevational view, partly in vertical section, of the counter top divider shown in FIGS. 1-3; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded top plan view of the counter top divider shown in FIGS. 1-4, with portions of the structure broken away for clarity.

Describing the invention in detail and referring to the drawings, the novel divider or spacer comprises a body portion 2 which is preferably formed of a transparent plastic, but may, if desired, be formed of any suitable Patented dan. 28, 1954 ice material such as metal, glass, or fiber, whether opaque or translucent.

The body portion 2 is preferably U-shaped in cross section and is formed with a top surface 4 and depending legs 6 and 3 which support the body portion on a counter top (not shown) upon which articles to be purchased are placed by a prospective purchaser so that they may be tallied by a checker using an adding machine or a cash register (not shown). The inner surfaces of the legs 6 and S are provided with upper and lower ridges 11 and 13 along the entire length thereof to receive and retain advertising material 15 for display thereon (see FIGS. 1 and 2).

One end of the body portion 2 is provided with a lug or tang 10, preferably in the form of an extension of that part of the body portion 2 along which the top surface d extends.

The tang 1i) is 'fitted within a tubular handle 12 which may be formed of the same material as the body portion 2, or, if desired, of a different material.

The tang 1t? is preferably cemented to the handle 12 as at 14 (FIG. 3) along the edges of the tang 1t) from the body portion 2 to the end of the tang remote therefrom. However, if desired, the tang may be removably but snugly fitted within the handle 12 for convenient disassembly therefrom.

A display container or tube 16 is removably mounted on the body portion 2, preferably along its top surface 4. The tube 16 may be formed of any suitable transparent material, such, for example, as glass or plastic, and the ends of the tube are preferably closed by end walls 1S which may be formed of any suitable material, preferably transparent. The end walls 18 are for the purpose of preventing unauthorized removal of valuable display merchandise in the tube, and for this reason the end walls 1d are preferably fixed to the tube 16, as by cement, to form permanent ends on the tube, so that it must be broken to remove the display merchandise. However, if desired, the end walls 13 may be removably press fitted within the ends of the tube 16.

The tube 16 is releasably attached to the body portion 2 as by a key 21B on the tube extending lengthwise thereof along the under side thereof. The key 20 is received within a complementary keyway 22 in the top surface 4 of the body portion 2, so that the key 2d may be inserted at one end thereof into the end of the keyway 22 remote from the tang 19 and by relative movement of the tube 15 and body portion 2 the tube may be moved, with the key in the keyway, to a position whereat a hole 24 of the body portion 2 is registered with a threaded opening 26 of the tube. A set screw 27 or similar type of screw can be threaded into the opening 26 with a portion of the screw in the hole 2d to prevent accidental or unauthorized separation of the tube 16 from the body portion 2.

One end of the handle 12 is preferably defined by an end wall 2S to which one end of a flexible anchor line 30 (FIG. 1) may be permanently attached. The opposite end of the line may be permanently anchored to a wall or to the counter top to prevent theft of the entire divider including the contents of its tube 16.

Thus it will be understood that the invention comprehends a novel divider or separator, preferably having a convenient handle 12 so that the divider can be conveniently placed upon a counter top to separate the articles being checked out for one purchaser from the articles of the next purchaser. An important feature of the invention is the closed display container or tube 16 within which valuable display merchandise can be placed without fear of less or theft, and an incidental but important aspect of the invention is the releasable attachment of the display container 16 to the body portion 2 in such manner as to prevent loss or theft of the container and to permit quick and easy removal and replacement thereof with another container 16 as may be desired to display different merchandise from time to time.

While there has been described what is believed to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, it will be appreciated that various changes and modifications may be made therein, and it is contemplated to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention:

What is claimed is:

l. A counter top divider comprising a rigid body portion in the form of an inverted U as seen in cross section and comprising a top surface and spaced legs depending therefrom to support said. body portion upon an associated counter top, a handle mounted on said body portion at one end thereof and at a level above the bottom surface of said legs, a transparent container incapable of distortion without fracture mounted on said body portion, said container comprising means to prevent accidental removal or theft of merchandise displayed in said container.

2. A divider according to claim 1 wherein the spaced legs are provided with upper and lower ridges at their inner surfaces, said ridges extending lengthwise along said inner surfaces to hold display advertising material thereon.

3. A counter top divider comprising a rigid body portion having an inverted U cross section with a top surface and spaced depending legs, a handleon one end of the body portion, a closed transparent container incapable of distortion without fracture for display merchandise, and slidably mated keyway means on the container and body portion extending lengthwise of the latter from the end thereof remote from the handle.

4. In a divider for separating articles on a counter top, the combination of a rigid body portion which is in the form of an inverted U as seen in cross section and which comprises spaced depending legs, the lower edges of which are formed and arranged to support said body portion on said counter top, said body portion having a top surface and having a tang on one end thereof defining an extension of said top surface beyond said legs, a handle on said tang, a transparent container incapable of distortion without fracture for display merchandise, and complementary tongue and groove means in slidable interlocked relationship on the under side of the container and on the body portion extending lengthwise thereof from its opposite end.

5. A divider according to claim 4 wherein readily releasable means are provided at the under side of the body portion for locking the container and body portion against slidable movement along said tongue and groove means.

6. A counter top divider comprising a rigid body portion with a tang on one end, a handle on the tang, flexible means for anchoring the handle, a transparent container incapable of distortion without fracture, and means for releasably interlocking the container and body portion.

7. A counter top divider comprising a transparent container incapable of distortion without fracture, means for closing the container to prevent theft of merchandise displayed therein, a flexible line, means for removably attaching the line to the container, and means for attaching the line to an associated fixed structure,

8. A counter divider comprising in combination a rigid body portion in the form of an inverted U as seen in cross section, said body portion being formed with a top surface having a keyway extending lengthwise thereof and with spaced legs depending from said top surface to support said body portion, means on the inner surfaces of said legs to receive and retain material for display thereon, a tang on one end of said body portion, a handle tted on said tang, a transparent display container incapable of being distorted without fracture removably mounted on said top surface of said body portion, said container being provided with a key extending lengthwise along the under side thereof said key being received in the keyway on the top surface of said body portion, means to prevent unauthorized removal of dispiay merchandise from said container, and means to prevent accidental separation of said container from said body portion.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,234,409 Humphrey Mar. 11, 1941 2,280,935 Stevens Apr. 28, 1942 2,367,019 Haag Jan. 9, 1945 2,590,383 Dean Mar. 25, 1952 2,631,689 Rubaloff Mar. 17, 1953 2,902,115 McNeil Sept. 1, 1959 2,975,888 Paynton Mar. 21, 1961 2,978,069 Shoiiner Apr. 4, 1961 2,984,031 Giesecke May 16, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,029,445 Germany May 8, 1958 

6. A COUNTER TOP DIVIDER COMPRISING A RIGID BODY PORTION WITH A TANG ON ONE END, A HANDLE ON THE TANG, FLEXIBLE MEANS FOR ANCHORING THE HANDLE, A TRANSPARENT CONTAINER INCAPABLE OF DISTORTION WITHOUT FRACTURE, AND MEANS FOR RELEASABLY INTERLOCKING THE CONTAINER AND BODY PORTION. 